Department Chair Dr. Jen Lawless was quoted in last week's news coverage of the Biden administration's struggle to confirm a number of key nominees. Dr. Lawless raised concerns about the fact that nominees of color and female nominees seem to be facing tougher opposition than male nominees with similar qualifications. “If it was just [OMB nominee Neera] Tanden, I’d say her circumstances are sufficiently unusual that we might not want to generalize. But it’s not just her,” Dr. Lawless told Huffington Post. “If you’ve got a handful of nominees who are either women or people of color systematically experiencing more hurdles and doubt than white men going through the confirmation process, that raises a flag. That’s sexism and racism."

Professor Lawless was also quoted in a piece from The Hill on First Lady Dr. Jill Biden's busy schedule since taking office. According to Dr. Lawless, Dr. Biden "has to be the first lady, times two," because of the multiple crises facing the country at the moment.